{"id":13861,"date":"2012-11-01T01:10:58","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T06:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcitement.com\/?p=13861"},"modified":"2012-11-02T06:38:27","modified_gmt":"2012-11-02T11:38:27","slug":"review-does-kyoceras-rise-get-the-worm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/column\/review-column\/review-does-kyoceras-rise-get-the-worm\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Does Kyocera’s Rise Get The Worm?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Let’s be blunt, Kyocera doesn’t have the best reputation as a cellphone maker. Known for making budget phones that feel cheap in the hand, with dated operating systems and limited features, Kyocera is hardly any Techcitement writer’s “go to” company. In fact, we generally consider those phones to be barely a step up from feature phones.<\/p>\n
The Kyocera Rise<\/a>, however, caught our attention despite this bad reputation. For starters, it’s a rarity in that the Rise was released for both Sprint and for Sprint’s no-contract Virgin line at almost the same time. On Sprint, you can get the Rise for free; on Virgin, it will cost you $99. Clearly, this does nothing to assuage the budget rep, but at least initial pricing is reasonable. The other thing that caught our eye was the slider keyboard. Physical keyboards are a deciding factor for many and something that can be implemented brilliantly or poorly. The last two Virgin Mobile phones that we reviewed, the Venture<\/a> and the Optimus Slider<\/a> absolutely bombed. Would the Rise manage to get a handle on that? We didn’t have to wonder that long, because Virgin Mobile sent one our way.<\/p>\n The Rise came in typical, no frills Virgin packaging. I get the branding thing, but it really would be nice to see them shake it up just a tad. Opening the blister pack revealed a phone that was, frankly, dull looking. Oddly, the uninspired styling almost makes the Rise stand out in an era of industrial design. There’s something retro about the grey, block-y physique.<\/p>\nFirst Impressions<\/h3>\n